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How the other half lives
Phrase: How the other half lives What would you do if you won a tremendous amount of money? I ask this question in all seriousness; please give it some thought. Would you pay off all your outstanding bills, move to an upscale neighbourhood, start eating at expensive restaurants with at least two Michelin stars, make…
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Leaps and bounds
Phrase: Leaps and bounds About this time two years ago, the coronavirus, which has been the bane of our lives for two years, first began to raise its head. Some news stories mentioned a strange disease in Wuhan, China, but nobody was paying attention. When China first officially announced it on December 31, 2019, little…
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Chunk of change
WotD: Chunk of change Christmas is just around the corner, which causes me to think of certain things. You may imagine I’m thinking of candy canes, Santa Claus, turkey, and presents, but actually, what I’m thinking about is money. Christmas costs a hefty chunk of change. A chunk of change is a lot of money.…
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All ears
Phrase: All ears An English language teacher’s most important character trait is to be a good listener. Language teachers need to be all ears all the time. I mean that they have to listen attentively and be eager to hear what their students have to say. To be all ears means to listen attentively and…
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Age gracefully
Phrase: Age gracefully Ageing is inevitable, but you are the one who gets to decide how you are going to age. You can refuse to accept that things will change and kick and scream as the years roll by, or you can choose to age gracefully. The first step is recognizing it is essential to…
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Whirlwind
Word of the Day: Whirlwind I am not Japanese. One way to know this is true is that I have never taken a whirlwind vacation. First, we have to get the meaning of whirlwind out of the way. Almost every year, you will see a whirlwind on the Japanese news. A whirlwind can be two…
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Capture lightning in a bottle
Idiom: Capture lightning in a bottle We all need a little luck, and when we capture lightning in a bottle, we succeed against all odds, just when it was least expected. Isn’t that a fantastic way to achieve success? This is a common expression in North America. To capture lightning in a bottle means to…
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Fly-by-night
WotD: Fly-by-night Tis the season for online shopping, tra, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. OK, so I’m tone-deaf. However, I can enjoy the Christmas season as well as you can. Go easy on me, please. I’m an AI voice, not an AI singer. A fly-by-night company is one that is unreliable and…
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Slum tourism
WotD: Slum tourism Slum tourism, poverty tourism, or ghetto tourism is a type of city tourism that involves visiting impoverished areas. Initially focused on the slums and ghettos of London and Manhattan in the 19th century, slum tourism is now prominent in South Africa, India, Brazil, Kenya, the Philippines, Russia and even the United States.…
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Disposable income
WotD: Disposable income On Thursday, in the first post of the week, we looked at the word shrinkflation, which occurs when companies shrink product sizes instead of increasing the price. Today we will examine and explain disposable income. Most people earn income from investments, jobs or in other ways. After paying your taxes and all…
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